The present invention relates generally to disk drives crash stops found in hard disk drives.
A hard disk drive includes a storage disk having a read/write surface and an actuator arm supporting a read/write head. As the actuator arm rotates about a pivot point, the read/write head moves over the data tracks to read data from the disk or to write data to the disk.
To prevent the read/write head from moving beyond predetermined displacement limits, the disk drive includes crash stops which constrain the displacement of the actuator arm. The present invention understands that when the actuator arm reaches a crash stop and collides with the crash stop, the actuator arm can rebound off of the crash stop. In order to prevent damage to the read/write head and the disk and to optimize drive performance, it is desirable to minimize the rebound. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,864,449 and 5,905,606, assigned to IBM Corp. and incorporated herein by reference, provide systems for damping the collision between the actuator arm and the crash stop. While these systems are effective for their intended purposes, the present invention recognizes that an improved way to absorb mechanical energy in a disk drive crash stop can be provided.
A disk drive includes at least one mechanical crash stop. At least a portion of the mechanical crash stop includes a material that generates current when mechanically strained. Preferably, this portion of the crash stop is connected to an energy dissipating circuit. In a preferred embodiment, the circuit includes a resistor that thermally dissipates the energy received from the crash stop. Alternatively, the circuit is connected to an actuator coil in a manner as to control the motion of an actuator. Preferably, the crash stop is at least partially manufactured from a piezoelectric material.
In another aspect of the present invention, a data storage apparatus includes at least one mechanical crash stop. In this aspect, at least one circuit is connected to the mechanical crash stop.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a mechanical crash stop for use in a disk drive is at least partially made from a material that generates energy when mechanically strained.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: